Clothes-marking clip.



G. W. FULLER.

CLOTHES MARKING OLIB. APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1911.

1,030,883. 1 Patented July 2, 1912.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 1 W Alluring/g COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH c0..wA$mNumN. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE W. FULLER, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

CLOTHES-MARKING CLIP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE IV. FULLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of VVestchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes- Marking Clips; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a clip or tag for marking articles of Wearing apparel and household linen for the purpose of identification.

The loss and inconvenience due to mistakes in delivering laundry are evils which have to be contended with by the public in general. One of the mistakes most frequently made is the mating of odd hose or other articles which come in pairs. My clip is also designed to overcome this difiiculty.

Another object of my invent-ion is to provide a marking device which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which can be readily and quickly attached to the article without stitching or other separate fastening means and without employing any tools. In other words, my marking clip may be secured to the article with the fingers. When attached, the grip of the clip upon the article will become firmer rather than looser as a result of laundrying.

It has been my aim, further, to provide a clip which will not rust or corrode, will not be unsightly or cause discomfort, and will not interfere in any way with the laundrying of the article to which it is attached.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description.

My invention consists of a clip made of non-corrosive and rust proof metal formed by bending a small thin strip of such metal at or near the middle so that its two end portions may be folded upon one another. Said end portions are provided with interlocking gripping devices which penetrate the material and interlock with one another when the clip is attached to an article or garment. For instance, one of the end portions may be provided with an inwardly extending tongue or spur cut and struck up therefrom about midway between the lateral Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 1, 1911.

Patented July 2, 1912. Serial No. 618,375.

edges of the clip and extending longitudinally thereof. The other end portion may have two smaller spurs or tongues converging toward one another in the direction of the bend in the metal and struck up therefrom in posit-ion leaving a clear and uncut piece of metal between them opposite the single tongue on the first mentioned end portion. lVhen the end portions or arms of the clip are spread slightly apart, all of the tongues or spurs point inwardly so that they present no obstructions to the introduction of the edge of a garment between said arms and there is no danger of tearing said garment. The clip is attached by pressing the two end portions or arms together which causes the single long spur to penetrate the article and interlock with the two smaller spurs. In the example given, which is my preferred form of clip, the long tongue, after passing through the material, comes in contact with a clear surface of metal between the short tongues or spurs and is flattened out as said end portions are pressed together, said long tongue interlocking with the short tongues by passing between them and the end portion of the clip from which they are cut, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. I propose to stamp one or more letters upon one side of the clip as a means of identification. hen applied to hose or other articles or garments which come in pairs, the clips attached to a pair are stamped on the other side with similar figures or other suitable indicia which will enable them to be readily assembled. will be understood that each pair of clips so used should bear a different figure or mark to distinguish them from other pairs.

The invention also consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts described herein, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and specified in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a front elevation of one of my marking clips attached to the edge of an article of household linen. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the clip in its initial position before it is attached to the article. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a strip of metal from which a clip is made, showing the relative positions of the tongues or spurs before the end portions are bent upon one another. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line w-m of Fig. 1 on an enj perforations 3 in order to render the clip more easy to bend wltho-ut weakenlng it too much or destroying the resiliency of the metal. Two or more small perforations are used lnstead of one large perforation in order to give greater space on the end portions of the clip for stamping the letters and figures. It will be understood, of course, that it is my intention to make the clips as small as possible, due regard being given to the durability of the device and the necessity of its bearing a mark which will be readily discernible. The long tongue l on one portion of the clip and the two. shorter tongues 5 on the other end port-ion thereof are cut and struck up from the metal strip in any suitable manner. The identification mark for the individual preferably consists of the initial of his name. The differentmembers of the same family 'may use the initials of their first names to avoid confusion and the household linen may bear the initial of the family name. In the drawing, I have illustrated the individual mark at 6. The mark for identifying pairs of articles is designated 7 and preferably consists of a numeral as already explained.

It will be observed that in the forms of clips which I have shown and described, there are two oppositely-disposed end portions one of which has one or more tongues adapted to penetrate the fabric and interlock with the other end portion whereby the more pressure brought to bear upon the clip, as in passing the article, to which it is attached, through a wringer or ironing machine, the more firmly will it be engaged with the article. Another important feature of my clip is the termination of all of the tongues on the inner faces of the clips, no projecting points being left to scratch the finger or be displaced during the launterial, as shown in Fig. 6, giving a firmer grip on the garment but I believe it is better to have only the longer tongue pass through the material because it will then bemuch easier to detach the clip for use over again.

lVhile in the preferred construction the spurs or tongues are shown at the ends of the end portions, it is obvious that they may be located at the sides of the end portions or at any convenient place thereon.

I claim:

A marking clip of the character described comprising a bent strip having a cloth penetrating tongne cut from one end portion and inclined inwardly toward the bend,"twocloth penetrating spurs cut from the opposite end portion of said strip and inclined inwardly toward each other, said spurs being spaced apartleaving a clear wall of metal between them against which the pointof sald tongue abuts when. the two end portongue and spurs arranged't'oi interlock as they are flattened down between said end: portions and leaving the outer surfaces of the clip free from projections.

In testimony whereof, I afiix .my signa Copies of this patent, may bev obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

'85 tions of the clip are pressed together, said 

